With the advent of mechanical manipulators and robotic arms, various tooling assemblies and workpiece-handling devices have been designed to quickly connect and disconnect to mechanical manipulators and robotic arms so that a variety of modular tooling assemblies can be utilized with the same manipulator. Flexibility and adjustability are preferably designed into the tooling assemblies so that the tooling assemblies can be configured for a variety of workpiece configurations. Previous tooling assemblies have utilized various sections of tubing interconnected by various brackets and mounts for fixturing a variety of workpieces, but such designs are typically rigid and provide little or no adjustment in the tooling assembly. Other designs have utilized slide mounts to allow the sections of tubing to be adjusted along a linear path of travel, but such designs have a limited amount of flexibility in that they provide only one degree or axis of adjustment.
It would be desirable to provide a multi-axis coupling apparatus for adjustably mounting modular tooling members that is reliable, inexpensive, and flexible in design.